Wednesday, October 26, 2011

For the time being, he’ll be referred to as the “American Idol rocker,” but James Durbin was rocking long before he hit the Idol stage.

"I just remember being a kid, driving around with my mom, and then Dio's 'Holy Diver' came on the radio and it changed everything," Durbin tells Noisecreep. "It was the first time I had ever heard a metal song. I loved it right away. From there, I just wanted to learn as much about music as I could. Eventually, I found the artists that I liked more and stuck with those. I'm talking about Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio, Motley Crue — you know, the classics.”

At some point, James morphed from being a fan to starting a band.

"I've always showed an interest for music of all kinds, so they might have thought that the metal thing was just a phase,” he laughs. “When I was a teenager, I even started a metal band called Leviathan. I've always wanted to be a professional musician. Look, metal isn't the kind of music my mom would listen to, but she's always been supportive nonetheless."

In order to learn his craft, Durbin spent time soaking up his surroundings.

"I learned so much from listening to Steelheart,” says the rocker. “They were a band that just missed the hair scene of the '80s and merged the thrash look with a glam sound. Steelheart’s singer is a guy named Michael Matijevic and man, can he f**king wail! I would watch all of their videos on YouTube and listen to their records and try and hit the notes he was nailing. I always wanted to see how far I could take my voice and listening to that band helped me out a lot. Michael actually did some of the vocals for the Mark Wahlberg movie 'Rock Star'...that's how I first discovered him."

Durbin’s debut, “Memories Of A Beautiful Disaster,” sees its release November 21.

In the meantime, fans can soak up Durbin’s first single, “Stand Up,” an anthem he recorded for the NFL. The track is part of volume 2 of the Official Gameday Music of the NFL EP, which features songs by Jordin Sparks, Darius Rucker, Hinder and Sammy Hagar. Material from the EP will be used by the NFL throughout the season.